This astounding event of Jesus’ ascension, forty days after his resurrection, has always – in my experience – taken a back seat to the coming of the Spirit on Pentecost, fifty days after the resurrection. But Michelle’s mention of Jesus’ feet peaking out from a cloud in artwork piqued my interest this week. And I still wonder why our Amish cousins observe Ascension Day as a holiday.

Of course, Jesus isn’t the only one in the biblical tradition to ascend to the heavens. Probably most familiar is the prophet Elijah, who is taken up by that chariot of fire in II Kings 2. But there is also Enoch, way back in Genesis 5. There is no story about Enoch; no details like we get with Elijah and his fiery chariot. There is just the mention of Enoch in the long list of descendants of Adam. Kenan lived 70 years, had these sons and daughters and then he died. Jared lived 162 years, had these sons and daughters, then he died. And on and on.

But – When Enoch had lived sixty-five years, he became the father of Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after the birth of Methuselah three hundred years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty-five years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him.

Enoch is not like these other ancestors. The ancestral litany says all the others died. But it shifts with Enoch. Enoch walked with God and then God took him. Hmm. And we know nothing else except that he was faithful.

One other person who is taken to heaven is Mary, Jesus’ mother, though in Mary’s case it is called Assumption (not ascension.) Mary’s assumption does not actually appear in the bible but it is a long-time tradition in Catholicism (and western art.) The tradition only became official “teaching,” and put on the books, in 1950 by Pope Pius XII. The feast day of the Assumption of Mary is August 15. This is all probably more than you want to know about ascension (and assumption.)

Curiously, the ascension of Jesus is found in only one of the gospels, Luke. And it is found again in Acts, which is written by the same author as Luke. Though the ascension is included in both books, the author describes the scene a bit differently in Luke and Acts. But there is some congruity between the resurrection in Luke and the ascension in Acts.

In Luke’s account of the resurrection, two strangers/angels/mysterious people in dazzling clothes appear at the tomb. They say to the women “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen.” (Luke 24:5-7)

At the Ascension in Acts 1, Jesus disappears into the clouds and again two people in white robes appear and say, “Why do you stand here looking up to the sky?”

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This past Thursday was Ascension Day; I did not take a holiday with my Amish cousins. Instead I lead the ecumenical prayer time outside the Immigration Court building in Hyattsville. We had just finished our prayers and singing. There were about 30 of us standing around, saying good-bye until next week. All of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a commotion. I turned a bit and then I saw it, a hawk flapping wildly in the crepe myrtle tree trying desperately to hold a little bird in its talons. (at first I thought it was an owl but owls don’t do this at 1:30 in the afternoon, do they?) The hawk flapped and struggled, then let go and flew away, two sparrows following after, no doubt scolding the hawk. I was left looking up at the sky. No one else seemed to notice. Did I imagine the whole scene?

This episode with the hawk left me full of awe – and a little bit of horror. I wanted to tell people about it but no one seemed interested. It was all so quick, I wanted to stay there and see it all again.

And the white robed messengers say, “Why are you standing there just looking in the sky?” Just standing there will not get you what you are looking for.

Honestly, when something amazing happens we want to linger with it, we want to keep looking up. But these robed messengers challenge that automatic response. And the questions these dazzling “messengers” ask don’t demand an answer so much as point toward a different reality. “Why do you look for the living among the dead? Why are you standing there just looking in the sky?” The messengers challenge the disciples – to stop standing still and get moving.

Looking up for a moment to see what is in the glorious sky is lovely. Looking up is good, but unless we are astronomers, we need to take our eyes out of the sky and see what is around us. If I had been looking up, I wouldn’t have seen the hawk because the event was actually at eye level.

Right before he disappears into the cloud, Jesus says to the disciples “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” There are things to witness down here at eye level. Down here on earth we see nature blooming and growing. Looking around, right where we are, we can see the power of our neighbors helping each other. We can be witnesses when we lower our heads and look around.

Of course, there are voices that call us to look up: to look up to those with power, look up at tall ballrooms and majestic arches, look up to a golden statue that is more than three times the height of the person it represents.

Perhaps one of the reasons these voices of power want us to look up is so that we don’t look around. Because when we look around, we not only witness the beauty of spring, birds of prey and songbirds, we also witness inequity, poverty, the climate crisis, gun violence, war. If we keep looking up, waiting for Jesus to come back on the clouds, we cannot be witnesses to the ends of the earth, or even to the places we know. We are stuck in one place.

You may have heard that today from 9am-6pm there’s a gathering on the National Mall – “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise, and Thanksgiving,” planned and led by the emperor and his sidekicks. This event is described as “a historic gathering, as Americans of every background across the country prepare for the nation’s 250th birthday with Scripture, testimony, prayer, and rededication of our country as One Nation to God.” While this purports to be a “gathering for Americans of every background” the speakers are all Christian, save one rabbi and almost all men.

Rather than a biblical Jubilee (where freedom is granted to the enslaved and wealth is redistributed) this event is a display of Christian Nationalism, disguised as an interfaith prayer parade. I imagine that there will be a lot of looking up to the sky and very little looking around at the world we actually live in.

In this divided country, there is of course a competing event – though only online. Rather than Rededicate 250, this one is called Redirect 250. Sojourners, Repairers of the Breach, Poor People’s Campaign, Vote Common Good, Faith in Action and many other groups are sponsoring this alternate event. It will feature the voices of women and LGBTQ people, immigrants and scholars, and many others that will not appear at the gathering on the Mall.

In the Book of Acts, right before he disappears in the clouds, Jesus gives the disciples their assignment. They are to be witnesses, in Jerusalem (the seat of religious power,) in Judea (their homeland,) – and Samaria (the land of their enemies) and to the ends of the earth. Moments later Jesus is gone and they are left standing there – mouths agape.

I never paid much attention to this “witness” passage before. I just skimmed over it to get to the ascension and then the choosing of the new disciple (to replace Judas Iscariot) by the lot. But this spring, the Washington Women’s Chorale, which I sing in, is performing a piece called Witness. The whole piece is this verse from Acts 1. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Local composer Jaquey Smith has set this verse to music, and now this text runs through my head all the time.

What does it even mean “you will be my witnesses”? To witness is to see something. To tell the truth, maybe even interpret what you see and experience. In a religious context sometimes witnessing means to try and convert someone, to proselytize.

What are the disciples witnesses to? When they traveled with Jesus they were witnesses to the community building, healing and love they saw in some pretty unlikely places, with some unlikely people. They were also witnesses to the terror and cruelty perpetuated by the empire and those who cooperate with the empire.

When one lives in an empire being a witness is rather complicated and multi-layered. What if rather than proselytizing, being a witness is a way of keeping each other safe.

Today, being a witness is one of the few ways we have to fight back against tyranny. Local law enforcement can’t step in, or won’t step in, against the federal government. And committed to the power of nonviolence, being a witness is what we have. It seems so small when it comes to the kidnapping of our neighbors or speaking the truth about corruption and lies. What we have is the power of witness. And as we saw in Minneapolis, just being present as a witness, can be dangerous, even deadly. Which is why we train and prepare.

The disciples trained with Jesus and now he is entrusting them with this task of witnessing, amidst the ongoing empire. But they will not be alone, they will be accompanied by this mysterious Holy Spirit/helper ghost (as a young one among us described it last week.) The disciples are to be witnesses in the places they know well – Jerusalem and Judea, and witnesses in the places they would rather not go – Samaria and the ends of the earth.

I was a witness when I saw the hawk at the court. Afterward, I realized this all happened in front of the Immigration court building. Was I seeing nature play out the same kind of surprise attack on an innocent as happens by ICE in the apartment complexes near my home. In this case the small one got away. As a witness, can I take hope from that? at least for the moment?

When the disciples lower their heads from the clouds and look at the path laid out before them, they can see the beauty and the pain, the glory and the gore. They are witnesses to the truth and to deception, to the hopeful possibilities, and the potential dangers.

I wonder what the folks gathered on the Mall will witness. Will they be given the charge to be witnesses to all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth (literally and metaphorically.) And what will those who gather online for Redirect 250 witness? What kind of witness will result from that gathering?

The ascension is not the end of the Jesus story, it is a new beginning. The power that Jesus had to cross boundaries, to reach out and heal brokenness, to speak truth to those in the  empire, this power is coming soon to the disciples. The power of being a witness is one gift Jesus left for his followers. Another is the gift of gathered community where we experience joy, support, mutual aid, and learn to build power for good.

We are empowered to be witnesses, to the things we adore and the things that terrify us. Witnesses in the places we know and the places that are strange and unfamiliar. Witnesses even to the places that we imagine hold danger.

Thank goodness the disciples did not do this work alone – and neither do we. We have each other in this gathered community – and we have the helper ghost/mysterious spirit that accompanies us. Which we will welcome and celebrate next week on Pentecost. May the Spirit guide us toward hope and courage.